


Bizarre Happenings of the Peculiar Prestige

by Ghostlyfluffster



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, No pokemon AU, school au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-12
Updated: 2021-01-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:53:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27521077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghostlyfluffster/pseuds/Ghostlyfluffster
Summary: After being accepted into a prestigious school, Hop and Leon are going to have to rely on each other and the friends they make during the year if they want to survive to see their next summer vacation.(As a side note, I have no idea how schools outside of America operate so I want to go on and apologize to the readers outside of the US for how America-centric this school is. But trust me when I say there will be bigger fish to fry than aligning grades with years and whatnot.)
Relationships: Dande | Leon/Kibana | Raihan
Comments: 7
Kudos: 9





	1. Crossing the Threshold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After being accepted into the prestigious Hammerlocke Institute, Hop has to battle against his nerves and Leon's horrible sense of direction if he stands a chance at surviving the school year. Fortunately for him, he's not the only one nervous about changing schools.

Buildings were terrifying enough already. They were always larger than a human being and there were so many added features to buildings that made them downright horrifying. If they came tumbling down, then any unlucky soul who was beneath it would be mercilessly crushed by the debris. This building, however, was still standing. Unfortunately so. The ragged burgundy bricks looked like they haven’t been touched by human hands since the last person put it in its place centuries ago. The windows were tall, practically as tall as the rooms they were protecting from the outside forces. The momentous steps to the front double doors looked like they trekked on for miles. A few kids hopped up the steps with relative ease. Two girls even made a game out of it by seeing how far they could go using only one foot to hop up each and every step. 

It was just another normal day for these kids. 

For Hop, it was the worst day of his life. 

All he could do was stare up at the building. His fists were tightly clenched around the straps of his bookbag, his legs shaking when they suddenly stopped. Clowns were scary. Ghosts were scary. This?

This was downright horrific. 

The teen that had been with him for the entire journey continued to carry on a few more paces before suddenly stopping as well. His sudden stop wasn’t due to terror though. Instead, he looked on either side of him before turning around to spy his trembling brother. That sight alone was enough to make him run all the way back, foregoing any and all progress that he once had.   
As the teen grew closer, Hop was trying his best to narrow down all of the thoughts that were zooming through his head. His brother stopped in front of him. Before he could say anything, Hop gulped. 

“Nope.”

“Nope?” Leon repeated, the confusion in his voice as clear as the sky above them. 

Hop shook his head and confidently turned around. “Nope. I’m not doing this. I’m gonna go back home.” 

His shaky legs seemed to understand the importance of this moment. Running on a split second decision, he took off running down the sidewalk he just came from. At least, an attempt was made to run down the sidewalk. He only got in a few strides before his brother made chase. As soon as Leon's hand grabbed the back of his backpack, Hop knew that this was over.   
However, that didn’t mean he couldn’t put up a fight. 

His first thought was to slip the backpack off and take that second of confusion to get in a headstart Leon would be completely unable to catch up with. With a swift action, he managed to get one of the straps off of his shoulder. Right when he was ready to give the other strap the same treatment, Leon did the unexpected and grabbed the back of his jacket.   
No problem. Totally not a problem. All he had to do was slip out of his jacket the same way. One arm after another and then he would be home free. 

Hop didn’t even have so much as a fighting chance. 

Before he knew it, both of Leon’s arms wrapped around his chest, effectively pinning his arms down. He squirmed and struggled, but all of it ended up to be fruitless as his feet were lifted off the ground. His squirming died down since he didn’t want to accidentally kick his brother or fall flat on his face. 

“A’ight, you’ve lost standing privileges until you tell me what’s up.”

Hop huffed, but he knew that no amount of huffing or puffing would be able knock his brother down. “Do I really?”

“Yup. I’ll hold you like this all day if I gotta.”

Hop opened his mouth to speak, but then a thought entered his mind and cut him off. A cheeky grin spread onto his face. A cheeky grin that was immediately noticed by an already suspicious older brother. 

“What’s that look for?”

“Nothing. Hold me for as long as you want, Lee.” 

Leon quirked a brow at the response. Hop firmly believed Leon had fallen for his little scheme so much so that he didn’t realize there were also gears turning in Leon’s head. Finally, things clicked together and a smile crept onto his own lips. 

“Well, I guess that if I’m stuck holding you all day, you’re gonna have to come to all of my boring high school classes with me.”

Hop’s smile remained unwavered. “I’m fine with that. Even boring stuff is fun when you’re there.”

“See, school’s a lil’ bit different though.” Thanks to gravity, Hop was beginning to slip through his arms. With a small heave, Leon hoisted him back up into a more stable position. “We won’t be able to talk in class or else we’ll both get in trouble, and then Mum would probably find out and we would get into even more trouble at home.” Slowly, the smile was starting to fade from Hop’s face. Leon kept going. “So let’s say we didn’t talk during class. If I’m still holding you, then I won’t have any arms to write with and you’ll have to take my notes for me. I bet you can do it, but some of the teachers won’t wait until you write everything down. Sometimes they change the slide before you’re done writing and they won’t go back.”

That smile had turned into a deep frown, but Hop shook his head. “I can do that!” he insisted. “Whatever I don’t write down I can just remember and write it down later. Easy peasy.”

To the best of his ability, Leon shrugged. “Fair point. Looks like you backed me into a corner here. Goodbye third grade, hello eleventh.” After giving Hop a tight squeeze, Leon turned around and started walking back towards the school. Hop’s genius plan proved to be his downfall. The closer they inched to the school, the more he started to panic. His heart beat rapidly against his chest. Even tears threatened to fall from the corner of his eyes. Right before Leon placed the bottom of his shoe on the first step, Hop started squirming around in his grasp. 

“No, no! This is a bad idea! A really bad idea!” 

Leon immediately stopped. Before he could drop the poor kid, he gently set him down onto his feet. He kept two firm hands on his shoulders part to keep Hop from running away and part to act comforting and reassuring. Hop made no indication that he was going to try to run away anyway. They both knew who was going to come out the victor if an attempt was made. Hop lowered his gaze to the sidewalk and scuffed his shoe on the ground. Leon crouched down to meet him at eye level. The kid was too short to do it standing up but too tall for him to kneel down. The tight grip on his shoulders turned into a comforting rub. 

“Okay, so,” Leon started with a hum, “you don’t want to go to your class and you don’t want to sit in any of my classes. If I had to guess...I say you don’t want to go to school at all.”

Hop shook his head fiercely. “That’s not true!”

“Then what’s up?” Leon asked calmly. “If there’s something bothering you, I can’t do anything to help until I know what it is.”

After a moment, Hop finally broke his gaze from the ground and looked up at his brother. “I don’t want to go to _this_ school,” he answered slowly, quietly, and honestly. 

“Ah, okay. I get ya now.” Leon nodded. There was something strange in his golden eyes. Something Hop didn’t quite recognize on his brother’s face. Normally he always had a vibrant shine of optimism in his expressions, but for just a brief moment, Hop could have sworn that he saw something troubling in Leon’s eyes. Something uneasy. Something that was quickly buried beneath the familiar vibrant shine. “It’s going to be weird, that’s for sure. Hammerlocke is way bigger than Postwick and Wedgehurst combined. And do you wanna know a secret?”

Hop perked up. Leon was never one to keep secrets, so the fact that he had one now? Hop couldn’t believe it. He nodded. 

With plenty of dramatic flair, Leon looked to the left, then to the right, then to the left again, then to the right again, then finally moved in to cup his hand around Hop’s ear just to be sure that he was the only one who was going to hear his following words. 

“I’m pretty nervous about going here too.”

Hop backed up and gasped in shock. “Nuh uh."

Leon was finding it hard not to smile at that reaction. “Yuh huh. It’s a big change, so it only makes sense that both of us would be pretty nervous, but we don’t have to feel that way all day. Here, follow my lead.”

Hop’s eyes followed Leon and he stood up and straightened himself out. “Those nerves are going to want to shake you up,” Leon explained, “so you gotta shake them up first. They won’t see it coming.” As he spoke, he hopped in place. Light feet made it look like he was jumping rope, of course, without the rope. Fascinated by this, Hop followed his lead. 

Between the anxious energy coursing through his body and the lack of coordination in his legs, it was hard for him to stay so focused on one spot so he ended up bouncing all around the sidewalk. He was almost afraid that he was doing it wrong, but when he glanced back and saw Leon laughing, his body eased up. 

“That’s the spirit! But there’s still more we need to do to really make sure those pesky nerves aren’t gonna mess with us. We have to be sure to tell them ‘Hey, this is my body and I call the shots around here,’ y’know, to make sure they know we really mean business.” Still staying light on his feet, Leon raised his hands and patted his cheeks. Hop thought about the reasoning for a second. It didn’t make the most sense in the world, but anything that his brother said had to be right. Imitating Leon’s motions, he brought his hands up and smacked his cheeks. After that, he looked back to Leon’s grinning face to see what they needed to do next. 

“Perfect! Now, we’re at the last and most important step.” Leon ceased hopping in place. Hop was quick to follow his lead. “We’re all psyched up and we have our nerves taken care of right now, but we still have to face whatever challenges come our way. And you know what? We can totally make it through anything. We just have to let the world know that we mean business. That’s what your game face is for.” Without a second of hesitation, Leon’s expression drastically changed. His brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed to the door targeted ahead. His face was no longer warm and soft. It was fierce and sturdy. His frown wasn’t deep, but it wasn’t welcoming either. Hop examined every inch that he could from his lower angle. It was a familiar expression. Leon always wore it when he was out on the field, but no matter how familiar it may be, Hop was always finding something new. This time he saw Leon’s nostrils flare as he took an extra long exhale. 

The building ahead of them was massive. Old, massive, and terrifying. Hop took a deep breath and attempted to mimic Leon’s expression. He didn’t get it quite right. His brows were too furrowed and his frown was too deep, making him look like he’s wanting to impersonate an old man rather than look intimidating. However, there wasn’t a mirror around for him to see his reflection and laugh. He felt serious. He felt tough. 

He felt like he could do this. 

“Ready champ?” Leon asked, his face continuing to face the building but his golden eyes looked down at Hop from the corners. 

Hop nodded fiercely. 

“Alright! There’s no point in wasting anymore time here. Let’s go!"

With newfound confidence, Hop bounded toward the entrance. Leon was right. They could totally make it through anything. With every step, Hop felt a new burst of energy coursing through his veins. There was nothing in the world that could stop him. He sprung up the final step with an assertive bounce. Solid oak double doors stood in between him and his new school. He waited eagerly as Leon bounded up the stairs, taking two steps at a time. He only had to wait a few seconds before his brother was by his side. Two sets of golden eyes looked at each other, one looking up, one looking down. Wordlessly, they nodded and each took a door. Hop’s heart was beating quickly. There was no doubt that his body still had some nerves in it, but he wasn’t going to let them scare him again. He was ready to face the day.   
Both of them blinked and looked at one another when the doors stood at a standstill after they both pushed on it. They took a step back to get a better look. Leon stretched out his arm and pulled the door just enough to see if it would crack. 

It opened effortlessly. 

Two sets of golden eyes looked at each other, one looked up and one looked down, and they both shared a booming laugh. 

With their newfound knowledge, they pulled the doors open and stepped inside. 

Immediately, they were met with vibrant LED lights illuminating the off white tile floor. Patterned red and blue lockers lined the never ending hallway. Hop’s eyes went wide and he felt his heart take a brief pause. The building was old on the outside, but it was like he stepped into a time machine and transported centuries into the modern day they were living in now.   
Hop jumped when he felt Leon's hand pat his back, but quickly eased into the touch.

“Remember your game face, Hop,” Leon said, his voice calm yet sturdy. Hop took another deep breath and put on his “game face” again, then nodded. 

Try as he might to keep his "game face" on, Hop couldn't help but allow plenty of fascination melt into his expression. Immediately next to the main doors were a few rooms with windows as the outer walls facing the hallways. Open blinds started at the top of the walls and went all the way to the bottom. From what Hop could see, all of these rooms had one main desk and a few chairs along the window wall or closer to the main desk. These rooms must be parts of the main office. Directly ahead of them was a massive trophy case that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. There was less empty space in the case than a vacuum sealed bag. Hop couldn't help but notice the way that Leon's eyes lingered on the case. They weren't intimidated like Hop's. Rather, they were excited. 

Venturing a little ways past that the main entrance, the walls shifted from glass to brick painted in an off white color. Along the brick walls were rows of lockers and, every now and again, thick wooden doors that lead into classes with neatly aligned desks. It looked like a regular old school. A school just like his old one back in Wedgehurst. 

There was only one problem though. One, very significant problem.

Unlike his school back in Wedgehurst, this school wasn't separated into multiple buildings for certain grades. Every student from every year reported to the same building for their classes. However, so far, Hop had only seen student's Leon's age in the halls. Many were gathered in small circles, laughing amongst themselves. Others were taking supplies out of their bags and putting the material in their lockers. Some were even craning their necks like sightseers, trying to find their classes. 

There were plenty of teenagers, but their wasn't a kid in sight. 

“I don’t think my class is anywhere near here,” Hop mumbled and looked up to Leon, noting his furrowed brow. That look wasn't part of Leon's "game face." That was the look he got when he was trying to figure something out but had no idea what the solution was. Hop saw that look often when Leon was hunched over the dining table trying to work on his math homework. However, Hop saw that expression in one scenario more than any other. 

It was when Leon was completely and hopelessly lost. 

“Yeah...this looks like my section,” Leon replied in a murmur. 

“So...where’s my section?”

For once in his life, Leon was silent. 

“Lee, please don’t tell me you forgot.”

“Pfft, what? I don’t forget anything. I’m just...having a hard time remembering right now.”

“Lee!” 

“I’ll think of it in a second, hold on. I just need to retrace my steps from open house night.”

“You’re going to get lost, and then I’m going to get lost, and then both of us are going to get lost, and then-”

“Hop, Hop, chill. No one’s gonna get lost. We might lose our way a little bit, but we’re not going to get lost,” Leon reassured him and started walking down the glossy tile floor. The other students in the hall seemed to not pay them any mind. 

Hop held his head high and did his best to keep his game face on while Leon turned his head left to right, side to side, over and over again trying to find the right hallway to go down. Although his game face was on, the nerves were starting to get to him again. They were going to get lost, and if they got lost then he would be late to class. If he was late to class, then he would have to give the walk of shame as he entered the room. If he went on the walk of shame, then no one would be friends with him. No one would probably want to be friends with him anyway. He was a kid from the small town of Postwick. He didn’t really belong here. Leon belonged here, not him. He clenched his backpack straps even tighter and put a little hop in his step. He needed to shake those nerves out, like Leon said. 

Despite the school being massive, things were starting to look familiar. A bulletin board with colorful flyers advertising various clubs the school had to offer was placed between different sets of lockers. The phrase “HAMMERLOCKE PRIDE” was painted in red and blue interchangeable letters over the entrance to the cafeteria that Hop couldn’t quite see the inside of while they were in a rush. A hallway led to an open staircase that lead to the upper floors if one were to take the stairs going up and the bottom floors if one were to take the stairs going down, as that is the function behind stairs and the directions they’re built in. A bulletin board with colorful flyers advertising various clubs was placed between the lockers, “HAMMERLOCKE PRIDE,” stairs, flyers, “HAMMERLOCKE PRIDE”-

“Lee! We’re going in circles!” Hop announced with a slight whine in his voice. “I told you we were gonna get lost!”

“We’re not lost,” Leon defended with confidence. “I’m just making sure I didn’t overlook anything.”

“‘Cause we’re lost.”

“No we’re not.”

"Yuh huh."

"Nuh uh."

"Yuh HUH!"

"Nuh UH!" 

"If ya don't mind me buttin' in, I think the kid's right."

Both of their heads whipped around at the sound of the new voice. Standing before them was a lanky figure who would be able to effortlessly tower Leon if not for the slouch in his back. His droopy eyes were dark, and Hop was having a hard time figuring out if that was makeup or tiredness. His hair was patterned in thick black and white stripes, the back of it being pulled into a loose ponytail. His jeans were tight and ripped, his black flannel shirt was faded and had a few holes in it, and the shirt underneath of it had a logo of a band Hop might have only ever heard of in passing. The same thing could be said for the pins on the strap of the messenger bag had had clung over his shoulder and across his chest. Hop was thankful that Leon was in front of him now that they were turned around. That meant he could subtly hide behind his older brother. The way his out of sight hand grabbed onto the bottom of Leon's shirt, however, wasn't subtle to his brother in the slightest. 

"Oh uh...huh, was it that obvious mate?" Leon laughed good heartedly. The other's droopy eyes didn't change all that much. 

"Well, I done figured that somethin' was up come your third lap 'round the place. First year here?"

"Yeah. We went to Wedgehurst before this scholarship program opened up, and let me be the first one to say that this place is nothing like Wedgehurst. I could kinda find my way around there since it only had one floor."

Finally, those droopy eyes perked up ever so slightly. 

"You're on scholarship too, eh? Nice to know we ain't gonna be the only fresh meat in this place." 

At first, Hop thought that the "we" this guy was talking about was the three of them. However, now that Hop could finally take his focus off of the teenager, he could see that this guy wasn't alone. Hop was trying to subtly hide behind Leon. The girl behind this guy, who was probably around Hop's age, was very actively not trying to be seen. It seemed to work since Hop paid no mind to her. It would work even better in her favor if her hiding spot wasn't as thin as a pencil. Hop couldn't see much of her, but he could see she had black hair tied into twin pigtails using pink and black ribbons. She had the same icy blue eyes as the guy she was hiding behind, though instead of looking droopy and tired, her eyes looked nervous. When she saw that she had caught Hop's attention, she tried to sink further behind the lanky teen. 

"Oh really? Sweet!" Leon carried on. "Name's Leon, and this little fella's Hop." Hop felt another pat on his back as a silent sign to come out from his hiding spot and be polite. Since this teen didn't seem as scary as he looked, and since he didn't want the girl to be even more afraid than she was, Hop stepped over to Leon's side and offered the duo a small wave. 

"Piers an' Marnie." This guy, Piers, as he literally just stated, looked down at the girl hiding behind him. She moved her head slightly out to the side, but still looked like she was holding onto him like her life depended on it. 

Hop looked up at Leon and then back to Marnie. Without Leon there to straighten him out, Hop would probably be in the same predicament as her. The fear was perfectly understandable, but Hop still hated to see it. After taking a moment to debate with himself, he finally piped up. "Are you also in Ms. Opal's class, Marnie?"

Marnie looked a little surprised that he was giving her even more attention, but nonetheless, she nodded. 

"That's so cool. I was sick on open house night and Lee is horrible with directions-"

"That's true. I'll admit it," Leon interrupted. 

"-See? So...can we follow your lead?"

Marnie made a noise like an unsure hum and looked up at Piers. His tired face softened up as he looked at her and only her, it seemed. "Ain't my choice to make, sis." Marnie's cheeks huffed up, clearly not pleased with that answer, but she didn't look like she was going to dispute it. Instead, after a moment of inner dispute, she slowly emerged out from behind Piers and nodded. 

"We're in the lower levels," Marnie said, her voice as quiet as a mouse if mice could participate in human speech. She took another glance up at Piers before she began to walk in the right direction with the teen right in tow. "This'a way."

When the new duo's backs were turned, Leon ruffled Hop's hair with a large, goofy grin on his face. Normally it would be accompanied by a "Nice work Champ," or "Awesome job, Hopscotch," but no words needed to be followed by the action at this point. Hop knew that his brother was insanely proud. Although joy burst in his heart and pumped through his veins, he still had to hunch his head down and swat Leon's hand away, but the bright smile on Hop's own face said that it was nothing personal. 

Marnie led the group down the stairs and onto the level that the kids were supposed to be on. It was such a relief to see that the kids Hop once saw outside were here safe and sound and didn't disappear into thin air. The halls on this level didn't have any lockers for the students. If Hop had to guess, it was probably set up in a similar fashion to his old school in which they had cubbies in the back of their class since they didn't switch rooms like high schoolers did. Instead of lockers, the halls were lined with colorful posters welcoming the students back for another year and dazzling award cases filled to the brim with golden trophies and medals. They had always known that Hammerlocke was a prestigious school, but now it was just being shoved in their faces. 

Every door on this level had a splash of color to them, unlike the boring brown doors the upper grades had to deal with. The door Marnie stopped at was pastel pink. A chalkboard hung underneath a tiny, narrow window on the door and read "Ms. Opal's Class," in fancy cursive letters. The curl in the cursive "O" turned into two loops, making it look like a butterfly had landed on the "O." 

"Ah ha! I knew I would remember where it was!" Leon laughed and Hop playfully rolled his eyes. "Thanks for leading the way and helping me remember, Marnie." 

Marnie didn't look up at him. It didn't even look like she heard his bolstering voice. She just looked up to Piers and Piers knelt down to her level, no doubt giving her a pep talk before she took her first steps into the classroom. Hop wasn't going to pry on their conversation. He had a brother he needed to say goodbye to, after all. 

"Do you think that you'll be okay and able to get to your first class, Lee?" 

"No doubt about it! The last thing I want is for Mum to find out I was tardy to my first class on my first day."

"She kinda expects it at this point," Hop joked and bumped against Leon's side. As he gazed into the class, he let out a soft exhale. "Are you sure that you're going to be okay?"

After he asked that, he felt Leon's arms wrap around him again. This time, his feet stayed firmly in place on the floor as Leon gave him a comforting squeeze. "When I put my game face on, I can do anything. The same logic works for you too, Champ. You go and have the best first day ever and don't worry about me for a second, a'ight? If you worry about me all day, then you'll miss out on a lot of cool things, and in turn, I won't get to hear all of those cool things on the ride back home. Then what am I supposed to do? Look out the window and count how many trees I see? That's super boring."

Leon always knew how to get some giggles out of Hop when he needed them the most. He squirmed in Leon's arms just enough to turn around and hug him back. "I'll have my best first day if you have your best first day. I'll tell you everything that happened to me on the ride home and you better tell me everything that happened to you at the dinner table." 

"Hmm...you drive a hard bargain, but deal." Leon gave him one final squeeze and then released him from his grasp. Hop readjusted his bag and fixed his hair to the best of his ability now that it was all messed up. He turned to see that Piers was rising to his feet, seeming to be finished with his pep talk to Marnie.

After giving Leon one final look to see that signature bright smile, Hop turned his attention to Marnie. He took a few cautious steps toward her and put both of his hands on his backpack straps. The nervousness on her face gave way to a more stoic expression. Once Hop couldn't quite put his finger on. "Hey...so I don't really know anyone here, but you're really cool. If we don't have any assigned seats here, do you maybe wanna sit next to me?" 

Marnie's icy eyes met his warm ones when he spoke. Faintly, ever so faintly, he could see the corners of her mouth move upward. It wasn't a classic smile, but even if it was microscopic, Hop considered it a right step forward. 

"Yeah...I think that would be cool." 

"Awesome! You ready then?"

"As I'll ever be, I guess." 

With that confirmation, both of them kids took a moment to steady themselves, thinking that they were only preparing themselves for the their first day, but truth be told, they were preparing themselves for the rest of the year. No one knew what the year would bring. If it was going to be good, bad, memorable, or best forgotten, well, that was only for time to tell. All that they could do now was take a first step across the threshold, leaving the summer behind and welcoming the official beginning of class. 

And that is exactly what they did. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading!!! I hope you enjoy! I'm super excited to get this project started. If you have any questions/comments/concerns, please feel free to leave a comment below or hmu at authorazumarill.tumblr.com! 
> 
> Next time: Leon meets his match.


	2. The Blood Pact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is nothing that Leon wants more than to make some friends in his new school, but he may have made a dangerous enemy instead.

There was not a doubt in Leon's mind that Hop was going to get rid of his first day jitters as soon as he gets into the swing of things, but there would forever and always be a part of him that was going to worry about his little brother no matter the circumstances. He let out a long and soft exhale of relief as Hop stepped into the classroom with who would hopefully end up being a good friend. 

While hopeful friendships were on his mind, he turned his attention fully to Piers. The teen looked just as relieved as Leon but with a helpful mix of concern thrown in when he watched Marnie enter the room. Once he saw that his business was finished here, however, he started to walk away. Leon stood outside of the classroom's doorway mildly confused before taking a few long strides to catch up with Piers. 

"Hey mate, thanks for bailing us out of that one. If I was left to my own devices we would still be going around in circles up there," Leon laughed, but it became painfully obvious to him that the air between the two had grown heavy. It wasn't unbearable, but it was a weight that Leon would prefer not to have on his shoulders. It was like he was wearing two backpacks. He would ideally just have to deal with the weight of the one currently on his back. 

"Eh, don't mention it," Piers replied with a disinterested, side eyed glance. "It was Marnie's idea for me to be all chummy with ya. If she wants to be a good person, then who am I to hold 'er back? Gotta enable 'em while there young or whatever."

Although Piers' disinterest was as open as a recently plowed field, Leon wasn't so easily dissuaded from interacting with him. Back at Wedgehurst, he was used to being the most popular guy in school. Everyone had their eyes on him. Now, the one person who's talked to him so far doesn't even want to give him a second glance. It was slightly disheartening, but he knew he should have been expecting something like this when he accepted that scholarship. He didn't consider himself to be at the bottom of the social ladder just yet. He was on neutral ground, and the only way to get to his former glory by taking things one step at a time. As Piers walked up the steps, Leon stayed close to his side. 

"I get that," Leon nodded. "I can tell Marnie's pretty deep in her shell, but you shouldn't have to worry too much. Hop's good company to be around. And she's gonna be good for him too. Having a buddy on the first day takes a lot of the new school stress away, that's for sure." 

Piers released a long, tired sigh when they reached the top of the stairs and returned to the high school level of the building. Or at least, Leon was pretty sure that this was the upperclassmen were supposed to be. "Look," Piers grumbled, "if you're lookin' for an openin' to sneak your way into my social life, I'll go on and stop ya right now. I ain't interested in bein' chums."

Leon blinked in surprise, his mouth partially agape from being shot down so bluntly and quickly. "Wait, but you said that it was nice to meet another person on scholarship."

"Yeah. It is nice to know that I ain't gonna be the only one targeted by these pretentious pricks. That don't mean I wanna band together like some feel goodie D-list teen movie on Netflix. I'm comfy bein' on my own here." 

Since Leon passed first grade with flying colors way back when, he knew that the best way to make friends was to not be pushy about it and let relationships occur naturally. However, this guy just wasn't being fair. Leon felt a new flare of determination light up in his heart as he continued to follow Piers through the hall. "Okay, you know what, that's cool. I respect that. But before we head off our different ways, would you care to do me one last favor and point me towards..." he trailed off for a moment as he pulled out his phone to see what he jotted down as his homeroom teacher's name in his notes, "Kabu's room?" Kabu, yeah, that sounded right. He used to be a major name on Galar's soccer team way before Leon was born. Leon's pretty sure that he has his professional card somewhere, but truth be told, he only has it because he accidentally picked up a pack of soccer trading cards rather than his normal baseball trading cards one day when he was out and about.

At the mention of the name, Piers' expression shifted from slightly annoyed to down right annoyed. 

"Of course you're in his room too," Piers mumbled. It took everything in Leon's power to keep a stupid grin from spreading across his face. With an exasperated sigh, Piers moved his hand, gesturing for Leon to follow him. "Fine. I'll show ya, but don't think for a second that me bein' a halfway decent guy is the same thing as bein' chums."

"Oh, totally not," Leon agreed, but deep down, he knew that this was a lucky break sent straight from the heavens above. He was one step closer to not being completely alone in this place. Well, he had Hop, but he would only see him at the beginning and end of the day so that automatically disqualified him. 

Deciding to not be pushy or take advantage of Piers' tight generosity, Leon stayed relatively quiet as they walked to the shared class. Although he's walked this exact hall before with his mum during open house night, nothing around him was ringing any bells. He remembered that his locker was next to one of his classes, but seeing how he had seven of them he went on and got used to the idea that his bag was only going to get heavier and heavier as the year went on. 

At long last, their journey seemed to have come to an end when Piers turned a corner and entered the room directly next to it. "Here we are. I say karma ain't gonna be too upset with me if I label this as my last good deed of the day." 

"I'm sure you're fine. Thanks for helping me out, mate. You're a real life saver." Leon had to stop himself from throwing his hand back and slamming the guy with an appreciative slap on the back. He would probably break the other if he did that. 

"Yeah, yeah, don't mention it." Piers easily waved him off. The teen already seemed to have his ideal seat in mind and made a direct line to the desks by the windows. Really, that shouldn't have came as much of a surprise. 

Leon wasn't really all too certain about where he wanted to sit, leaving him standing in the doorway until someone came behind him and loudly coughed into their fist as an annoyed sign that they wanted him to move. He stepped to the side and offered a small apology as they passed, slightly deflating when they didn't give him a second glance. He didn't realize he was going to miss small town hospitality so soon. 

The temptation to sit by Piers was painful to fight against. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that he was going to learn names and make new friends given some time, but he hasn't exactly needed to do that since he was thrusted into the school system back in preschool. At Wedgehurst, he would immediately call dibs on the seat next to his best friend Sonia's and his classmates would radiate from his desk. Now he was forced to fend for himself. 

After mulling over the temptation for a solid moment, he decided on settling down in the desk not directly behind Piers', but rather, the next one back. Leon set his bag on top of the desk and noticed that Piers had stopped shuffling around in his own bag in favor of turning to look at him. Another exasperated sigh left him. "If you're gonna be that close, might as well commit."

That wasn't the plan, but Leon stopped himself from saying anything and blowing this opportunity. For a guy with a rough exterior, Leon was pleasantly surprised to find that Piers was proving to be a softie. A reluctant softie, but a softie nonetheless. He moved his bag and slid in to comfortably sit in his new seat. 

"Seems like fresh meat tend to stick together, huh?" Leon said.

"Remember what I said about being chummy," Piers snarked in return. 

"Well..." The gears in Leon's head were turning fast as he thought of an excuse to keep the conversation going. They still had a few minutes until the day officially began, after all. "I don't see alliance forging as being chummy." _Alliance forging?_ Leon wanted to smack himself. That was probably the stupidest thing he's said all week, and he has been known to say some pretty stupid things to his bearded dragon since the little fella will never judge him for speaking Motherese. However, it was out in the open so he had to commit to it. Piers had a curious expression on his face. Or maybe that was concern? Either way, Leon kept going. 

"The way I see it is it can never hurt to know that you have people you can fall back on if the going gets rough. We're both in the same boat here. New school, new people, new responsibilities, the works. So far you've had my back. I don't see it as being such a crime for me to want to have yours." 

Piers gave a short laugh. A laugh that didn't have so much as a drop of good nature in it. "We don't know a damn thing 'bout each other other than our names. I ain't 'bout to put my trust in a stranger." Much to Leon's surprise, Piers turned himself fully around in his seat to face him and leaned forward. "But I can already tell you're gonna be a thorn in my side 'till ya get your way, so tell ya what. We make a blood pact an' I'll consider ya a trustworthy guy."

Leon was very taken aback. It took him a hot second to find his voice again. "Blood...what do you mean 'blood pact'?" 

Piers shrugged as if this was the most nonchalant thing in the world, but there was a hint of joy on his face, as if this was a plan to deter Leon away from further interacting with him and the hesitation was a sign that it was working. "Simple. We cut our hands and shake on it."

Every part of his brain was screaming against this idea. Piers has been a decent guy so far, sure, but this was crossing the line a bit even if it was just a joke. Not only that, but he was right. They knew nothing about each other. But if Leon followed his head, then he wouldn't be sitting here right now. He would be back at Wedgehurst and worrying about an uncertain future. 

His heart had made this bright future possible. Right now, his heart was sending him entirely different messages than his brain. 

His brows furrowed slightly and he finally nodded. "Alright. Let's do it. But you're not wanting to do it right here and now, right? We can wait for a break, can't we?" 

Now it was Piers' turn to be taken aback as his beautiful plan crashed and burned into a horrific disaster right before his eyes. However, Leon caught his first glimpse of amusement on Piers' face after the initial shock wore off. "Ya serious?"

"Weren't you?" Leon challenged with a grin. 

Piers leaned back. "Y'know, ya might not be as big of a pain as I thought."

Leon opened his mouth to rebuttal, but he was cut off when the first bell of the year rung. The students who hadn't taken their seats before now found their way over to a desk, including two students who were previously standing Kabu's desk; a broad guy with a soft face and red hair and a tall girl with blue streaks in her black hair. 

The soft chatter of the room died down when Kabu stood up and held everyone's attention at the front of the room. Now the excitement was really settling in. Even Kabu seemed to have flames lit behind his wrinkly eyes now that he could officially get the ball rolling. 

"Good morning of a new year, everyone," he began, "I have bumped into many of you in the hallways throughout the years so I am burning with anticipation to finally see your talent unfold in the classroom and not only on your respective field. As for some of you, I am not as familiar with but I am eager to see how bright your flame can burn if you were selected to take part in the Hammerlocke Institute's curricular."

As he continued on with his introductory speech, he started a light pace up and down the front section, clearly finding it impossible to stand still and talk at the same time. "You may be ready to address me as 'Mr. Kabu' throughout this year, but I am not here to stand in front of a whiteboard for an hour a day and flab off material you will take in only to burn it to ash after a test. I am here to guide and support you, to help fan the flames of your passions, and to provide a solid base to build self-sufficiency on. Therefore, I am not a run of the mill teacher. I am a coach, and _that_ is how you will address me." During his pacing, he made a slight detour to his desk and fetched a clipboard and a pair of reading glasses. "Now, with that spiel taken care of, let's move on to atten-"

"Mornin', Coach," a voice interrupted as a guy as tall as the doorway strutted into the room. Every pair of eyes instinctively turned their attention to him. "Sorry for being late. I was having a chat with Superintendent Rose that went a lil' longer than I thought." Despite his words, the tardy teen walked with a swagger towards one of the last available desks. A thick orange headband stretched around his head, helping to keep his short dreadlocks pulled back and out of his face. Unlike everyone else, he didn't have a bag slung over his shoulder, but he looked confident that he didn't need one to begin with. His hands were casually shoved into his front hoodie pockets. A hoodie that had a really unique design to it. It looked like the belly of a snake, maybe? But wait, it looked like the hood had white ridges like teeth on it. 

"Ah yes. Very good of you to join us, Raihan. Don't let this kindle into a year long habit," Coach Kabu warned. 

"I'll do my best, but if the big man needs to talk to me then I can't really say no. I'll get an excuse slip from him next time, at least," the guy, Raihan as it seemed to be, replied with the same smugness as a bad poker player. 

Leon didn't realize that his eyes never left Raihan as he strolled to the empty desk adjacent from his own. It wasn't so much because he was interested in the other guy. He was mainly still trying to figure out the hoodie. The drawstrings looked like whiskers? What in the world was it supposed to be?!

Someone else, however, did notice Leon's long gaze. 

"If you wanna gawk at me all day, you're more than welcome to check out my Instagram," Raihan commented as he slid into his seat. "I got more than enough content to keep you entertained." Just to add to his smugness, he threw in a wink at the end, causing Leon to bring himself back into reality. 

"Uh, what?" Leon said in utter confusion, but it was too late. A few snickers were already running through the class before Coach Kabu cleared his throat to get everyone's attention again. 

"Save that kind of talk for the break, and even then, you have an hour to decide for yourself whether or not that's a good idea to begin with. This goes for everyone when I say that good sportsmanship should be practiced on and off the field."

Not learning his lesson from the previous exchange, Leon's eyes went back to Raihan while Coach Kabu gave a speech worthy to be in a forgettable after school special back when after school specials were a thing. Raihan's long legs were unable to bend comfortably under the desk, so he stretched them far past the perimeters of his desk space. Even when he threw his head back in boredom he was invading the person's space behind him. Other than his hoodie, there was something about this guy that Leon was interested in, but he couldn't figure out what it was for the life of him. Maybe it was his attitude? He's never seen a cockier human being, but that answer didn't really set right with him. 

There was still plenty of excitement running through Leon's body as Coach Kabu shifted to talking about his class and what they can expect to do throughout the year, but he couldn't help but mull over what it was about Raihan that held his attention in the back of his mind for the rest of the hour.

No matter the school, the first day was always the second easiest day. The easiest day was, of course, the last day when all of the lessons were wrapped up with the pretty bows of finals and standardized tests so everyone had eight hours to spend goofing off as a last hurrah of the year. For the time being, the most important thing that the teachers had to discuss and the students had to somewhat pay attention to was the syllabus. Since this was just a homeroom class, Coach Kabu seemed to be focused on more generalized topics of health and teamwork. It felt like he got to pick out his own lessons, which was something unheard of back in Wedgehurst.

For Leon, the class seemed to go by too fast. Before he knew it, the bell rang out dismissing the students and everyone was back up on their feet. Leon put the notebook he didn't use back in his bag and Piers did the same thing. However, the cover of his notebook had every inch of it filled with doodles of rats and racoons, lizards and squids, and plenty of instruments as well. 

"Sooo," Leon started as they exited the room, "where's your next stop?"  
  
"Are ya plannin' on followin' me 'round like a lost puppy all day?" Piers grumbled in response, but Leon noticed that the air between the two was significantly lighter than it was prior to their first class. 

"Maybe," Leon laughed. "Are we also gonna do the pact thing now or later? If we are then I gotta follow you to the washroom because I have absolutely no clue where that is. I mean, I don't really know where anything is, but that especially."

"I mean..." Piers started, but cut himself off when Raihan casually strode next to them, then took a longer step to cut off their path. Piers' face scrunched up in annoyance while Leon blinked in confusion. "Need somethin'? An umbrella for the weather up there maybe? 'Cause if you're here to annoy me I already got one pain in my side to deal with."

"Ha, an umbrella? Haven't heard that one in a while. Everyone else got tired of the weather jokes back in the middle grades, but I guess the new guys have to get their fix too. Lil' late to the party, but do what you need to do to get it out of your system." Raihan easily shrugged with that smug grin still on his face. 

"Yeah, I'm done here." Piers moved to step around Raihan, but the towering teen stepped right in his path again. 

"Hang on, hang on. I just thought that I'd step in and welcome you guys to Hammerlocke. It's not everyday that I get to see new faces around this place. You guys must be something special if Rose handpicked you to attend this school. I mean, it might be a little late for you to get the full Hammerlocke treatment and be as good as the rest of us, but you still might have a chance here." Raihan leaned against one of the lockers, seeming to find the others' annoyance amusing since he still had that grin that Leon was growing to find infuriating. 

Leon has always considered himself a pretty easy going guy. No one has really ever gone close to any of his limits. This guy, however, was getting close. Far too close for Leon's liking. "Pfft, 'good as the rest of you'?" Leon repeated with a scoff. "Just because this is my first day here doesn't mean I'm any less skilled than everyone else."

Raihan clicked his tongue and pushed himself off of the locker. The other loomed over Leon, but he remained grounded where he stood. If Hop were here, he would want to make an example for his little brother to look up to. Remain calm, collected, and don't let anyone make you falter. 

"Oh really?" Raihan countered. "I'm not doubting you're decent at what you do, but you're probably not as good as our guys in whatever it is. Hammerlocke has the best in everything. We're pretty much unmatched, well, we were. I'm not entirely for sure how this scholarship stuff is going to play out, but I guess we'll see."

Leon narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. He hated the fact that he had to look up at this guy to meet his amused gaze. It felt like it gave him a natural upper ground that he knew no one would be able to reach. He's been an unchallenged force in this school.

Up until now. 

"I'm more than 'decent' in whatever I do, which is baseball, by the way. I help take Wedgehurst High to their first ever District and Regional Championship and won."

"Oh, wow. First ever huh? I didn't know that there were still schools that didn't have a single trophy in their awards case. Man, that's actually sad now that I'm thinking about it. Rose must have given you a pity scholarship or something to get you out of that joint."

Leon clenched his fists and Piers scoffed with an eyeroll. "Step aside. I ain't got time for this pointless drama ya tryin' to brew up."

"Same here," Leon agreed, but never took his eyes off of Raihan. He was playing right into the other's trap, but he wasn't about to walk away just yet. Not when he thought he won. "Especially when I _know_ that I'm just as good, if not better than this guy at...whatever he does."

Now it was Raihan's turn to scoff. "Seriously? You're picking a fight and you don't even know what court you're playing on?"

"Didn't stop you earlier, but see, the difference is I'm not just talking out of my ass trying to intimidate some new guys. I'm telling the honest truth here."

Raihan straightened himself up and rested his hands behind his head. "Alright, alright, small town hero. You think that just because you're in the big leagues now you can take on anyone, but I'll be the first one to let you know that if you shoot for the stars and fall, it's going to hurt. Bad."

Leon remained unwavered. Nerves were beginning to prick at him like tiny needles on his insides, but he wasn't about to let them poke through. He was strong enough to beat them down. He couldn't let Hop see him struggling to keep his composure. Hop may not be with him currently, but Leon did everything with the thought that Hop was right around the corner watching him. 

"We'll see about that," he challenged. "I'm not just a one trick pony. Name your game."

Raihan tilted his head a little to the side. "Fine. The name of the game is basketball. Meet me at the outside court after school." At long last, he started moving away to leave them be. "Oh, and just so you know," he called over his shoulder, "I ain't gonna judge you if you realize that you're in over your head." Before Leon could come up with a witty final word, Raihan walked off as nonchalantly as he strolled into class earlier. 

When the exchange seemed to be over, the small crowd that Leon hadn't noticed quickly started to disperse. Leon closed his eyes and let out a hearty exhale. 

"Ya really are the stubborn type, huh?" Piers readjusted his bag strap and pushed some of his hair out of his eyes, only for it to fall right back in place and in the way. 

"You could call it that." Leon lowered his arms and shook away some of the growing nerves in a much more subtle fashion than before when he was showing Hop how to do it. "Hearty is what my mum calls it." Now that he felt a little more settled and calm, he turned his attention over to Piers. "Thanks for staying by my side, mate."

"Eh," he shrugged and started walking. Leon followed even though he had no idea if that was the right way he needed to go. Just because they shared one class didn't mean they shared all of them. "It ain't like I had a better place to be."

Leon smiled, soft and warm. And here he thought that Piers was going to be hard to break. "Are you gonna have that same mentality at the end of the day when the showdown's ready to start?" 

"I dunno. Might not be best for Marnie to see a grown guy cry."

"You're talking about Raihan, right?" 

"I'm talkin' 'bout whoever loses. I don't care enough to have any chips on the table." Piers gave him a side eyed glance with a hint of a smile. "But if we're talkin' 'bout wishful thinkin', I wanna see that prick get knocked off his high horse. Hard. Really hard."

Leon was charmed and couldn't help but laugh. Instinctively, he patted Piers on the shoulder. The other didn't seem to mind that much. If he did, Leon was sure he would have said something. "I definitely won't go down without a fight. I haven't played basketball competitively since...middle school though." When that realization finally dawned on him, he laughed really hard at himself. "Oh my god this is going to be a sight to see."

At long last, they finally passed a restroom during their journey through the seemingly endless halls. The blood pact brought itself to the forefront of Leon's mind once again. "Hey, we're you serious about that whole blood pact thing? A washroom's right there if you were."

Piers waved him off with a small, yet amused laugh. "Don't worry 'bout it. By the looks of it, you're gonna need all the blood ya can get to handle this beatdown."

Leon laughed along with him, but in the pit of his stomach he knew Piers was onto something. He was either going to make a complete idiot out of himself or make the biggest upset Hammerlocke has ever seen on their school grounds. If this were a baseball game, Leon would have all the confidence in the world that he could beat the daylights out of Raihan. But basketball? It was going to be rough. Rough to play. Rough for Hop to watch. His unbeatable brother got in too over his head and now he had to watch the brother he idolized so much be brutally beaten in a game he's never taken too seriously.

The way that Leon saw it, there was only one solution to this problem. 

There was no way in hell he could let Raihan win. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading!!! As you can tell by now, this story is going to go back and forth between Hop and Leon. And don't worry. I recognize that I really amped up Raihan's asshole levels in this chapter but I promise you I have reasons for doing so and he won't be like that for the entire story. Get some straws ready cause you're about to get a big ol' 64 ounce cup of character development juice as the story progresses from, well, everyone. If you have any questions/comments/concerns, please feel free to leave them in the comments below or hmu at authorazumarill.tumblr.com! 
> 
> Next time: The squad is formed.


	3. The Wizard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grade school classrooms always have the strangest seating arrangements, but how else is a person supposed to make friends in the dog-eat-dog world of second grade?

Ms. Opal's room was much more collected and organized than any of the classrooms that Hop has ever been in. The classes in Wedgehurst Elementary always exploded with vibrant colors radiating off of every inch that the teacher could tape a piece of construction paper or a cartoony educational poster to. Ms. Opal's room, however, still had plenty of color to it but the colors she chose were nowhere near as vibrant as firetruck reds or a sun on the verge of explosion yellow. The walls were painted a pastel pink, but the color could very well have been more vibrant a number of years ago. Cartoony posters were nowhere in sight, but there were light pink, lime, and lavender butterfly cutouts sprinkled along the walls, as though they were just fluttering along to where the wind carried them. 

There was only one poster in the room, but it had nothing to do with learning like Hop has always seen. It was a black and white picture of a beautiful woman with short, curly dark hair topped off with a pointy hat. She wore a puffy shirt that made her look just as loose and free as the way that she posed. In her hand was a finely decorated stick that Hop deduced to actually be a wand when he saw "THE WIZARD" printed in extravagant cursive letters on the bottom of the poster. 

The desks were put together five to a group. Four of them made a square while one was placed at either the top or the bottom of the group. Some of the seats were already taken, but it didn't look like more than half of the seats in total were filled even with some of the kids over by the cubbies instead. 

Finally, Hop's eyes landed on an elderly woman who was jotting down some things on the chalkboard. Chalkboard? Even Wedgehurst moved up in the world by having smartboards. 

"That must be Ms. Opal," Hop whispered and looked over at Marnie. "Think we should introduce ourselves?"

Marnie's face was stone cold stoic, making it impossible for Hop to read what was going on through that head of hers. "Yeah...at the very least I wanna know where I'm sittin'."

If Leon were here Hop would make him do all the talking. It wasn't that he disliked talking to new people. Leon was just better at it. That, and Hop could always feel the joy radiating off of Leon when he felt like he helped his little brother out. If Leon was happy, then Hop was ecstatic. Since Leon wasn't here though, Hop just had act like Leon was peeking around the corner with that goofy grin on his face. Even when he wasn't present, Hop wanted nothing more than to make his big brother proud. Taking charge, in this case, would definitely do the trick. 

Opting out of jumping in place and making himself seem insane in front of who would hopefully be a new friend, Hop skipped to the next step and patted his cheeks with both of his hands. The action did get a peculiar look from Marnie, but she didn't say anything on the matter. They were both still learning things about one another. Perhaps that was just one of his quirks? 

Now that he felt prepped up enough to carry out the deed, he put on his game face, careful not to make himself look so angry like he did before. He still felt like he was putting too much effort into it, and it did look like he was making an overexaggerated old man expression once more, but the gears were already in motion so there was no stopping him now. With an abundance of faux confidence bouncing off of him he took the lead and Marnie followed in tow. She probably would have been right by his side if not for his long strides. 

The duo stopped and looked up at the woman. Every inch of her face was covered in wrinkles, her hair was thin and white, and her makeup didn't exactly quite fit well onto her face. Despite her old age, she still looked like she had plenty of life and charm left in her old bones. She looked down when the two stopped beside her, amusement dazzling in her eyes. 

"Oh my, I know that going back to school is quite disruptive after such a nice summer, but there is no need to put on such a sour look, dearie," Ms. Opal said and tapped her index finger on the top of her cane. Hop's face immediately flushed.

"Oh no...no! Nothing like that, ma'am! I just...it's this thing my brother does, but it's not like sour or anything. It's, uh..." Hop felt the panic quickly rise in his blood. He knew better than to skip the first step! He attempted to calm himself down so he wouldn't be left stuttering and making himself even more flustered, but it seemed like Marnie was a merciful soul. 

"He's just nervous," she spoke up despite her voice still being as quiet as a mouse that just had its tonsils removed. Hop thought that she didn't have to be so blunt, but he couldn't complain if she was going out of her way to rescue him. "I'm Marnie an' he's Hop. We were wonderin' if ya had a seatin' chart."

"Marnie and Hop," the old lady mused. "Two unique names for two unique children! It's a pleasure to finally put names to faces instead of staring at them on a sheet of paper. Allow me to properly introduce myself then! I'm Ms. Opal and I am very excited to be your teacher this year. Those nerves you hold will vanish as soon as I can get these old bones in swing of the new year. And might I add, Miss Marnie, that the pink on your dress and in your ribbons looks absolutely adorable on you." Right after she finished gushing, Ms. Opal could marvel at how well the pink on Marnie's flustered face matched the rest of her attire. Whether she did or not remained a mystery. 

"Now," she continued on, "you can have any cubby that is is open. As for your seats..." She hummed an old tune as she looked around the room. There weren't very many students in the room when they're compared to the number of desks, but the kids that were already sitting were sitting relatively close together. "Aha! You two can take a seat with Victor and Gloria." Ms. Opal pointed a boney, strangely bent finger towards a pair of students. Both had brunet hair, Victor's being short and Gloria's coming down as a short bob. Both had rich brown eyes and...the exact same face now that Hop was really looking at them. 

"Okay, thank you Ms. Opal," Hop said and Marnie nodded to add herself to the sentiment. 

They stepped away from the woman and made quick work at picking out their cubbies, choosing to be next to one another once more. Hop wasn't entirely for sure what he needed from his bag, but he could never go wrong with a notebook and his pencil pouch that was full of brand new mechanical pencils, sharp colored pencils, a pair of scissors, and of course, a gluestick for all of his crafting needs. At least, until he inevitably loses it after the first few times he uses it. 

Hop and Marnie looked to one another before stepping up to their seats. Victor and Gloria were sitting side by side, so that left one side and the desk at the end open. 

"Uh, hey there," Hop said with a little wave to get their attention. They put whatever they were talking about on hold and looked up at the duo before them. "I'm Hop and this is Marnie. Ms. Opal told us that we would be sitting in the same group so...here we are."

Fast enough to scare both Hop and Marnie, Gloria flung herself out of her seat to meet them. Without any warning, she reached out and grabbed one of Hop's hands and gave it a tight squeeze. Hop was too busy processing what was going on to see that she was doing to same thing to Marnie. 

"It's about time she sent someone our way!" Gloria exclaimed. "We've been sitting here watching and waiting and watching and waiting for someone to come our way but Ms. Opal kept on telling them to sit somewhere else!"

"Maybe that's a good thing, Gloria," Victor added with a shrug. His voice was much more level and calmer than Gloria's bolstering one. "Everyone else looks like they already know each other."

When Victor said that, Hop's eyes lit up. "Is this your first year too?"

Hop was almost regretful that he asked the question. Almost. With a squeal of pure delight, Gloria released their hands in exchange for throwing her arms around Hop and Marnie's shoulders. Behind her back, Hop met Marnie's eyes, both of them looking at the other, hoping the other knew was going on here. Unfortunately, neither did. 

"I knew it! I knew there was no way we were going to be the only first years!" Gloria didn't keep them in her grasp for long. She soon released them and looked over at Victor with a smug look on her face. "Told youuuuuu."

Victor rolled his eyes and rested his chin on his hand. "I never said you were wrong."

"You didn't have to say anything. It's the twin telepathy working against you yet again, Victor!" Gloria moved a finger back and forth between her head and Victor's, as if drawing a route between their brain waves. 

Although he was nowhere ready to show off his excitement like Gloria, Hop was feeling significantly better now that he met not one, but three people who were starting this journey with him. "This is so awesome! I never would've thought that Hammerlocke would have so many scholarships available. I thought it was just gonna be me, my brother, and a few others."

"Well, whenever you're super rich like Superintendent Rose, I guess you can do whatever you want," Victor piped in with a shrug.

"I definitely won't be complaining about that anytime soon," Gloria nodded. "Speaking of, why'd Superintendent Rose pick you guys out from the crowd? Me and Victor are here because we're good football players. Superintendent Rose just had to watch one game a piece and he told our mum that he wanted us to come here. Just one game! I know that Hammerlocke is famous for its star students, but I didn't think they could be picked out so quickly."

Marnie pulled her hand up and started fiddling with the end of one of her pigtails. "He wasted no time recruitin' ya either, huh?" she started slowly, as if she was building up enough momentum to continue talking, which she inevitably did. "My bro got the scholarship first. He's makin' a name for himself with singin' an' all that. Then one thing led to another and that Rose guy got his sights on me. I ain't a singer like my bro, an' I ain't too good at a lotta sports, but I can train animals real good. He didn't stop buggin' us 'till I agreed to accept the scholarship."

"Animal training?!" Gloria gasped. "That's _so_ cool! You're going to have to show me sometime. Can you also see if you can teach my bunny to jump into my hand on command?"

"Uhh, we'll see."

While the two talked and Victor quietly listened in, Hop only paid half attention to the conversation. It wasn't that he was bored. Quite the opposite. He found everything that they were saying highly interesting. However, he knew that the question was inevitably going to be bounced back to him and he had to go on and get his answer in his head. Superintendent Rose had heard of the extraordinary talents that Leon held and knew that he wanted the teen in his school. Baseball is a team sport, after all, but all it takes is a little bit of strategy and a whole lot of skill and one person can pretty much carry a tiny, no name team through big name tournaments and come out victorious. Leon had figured out that strategy and worked hard to make sure he had skill that was up to par with his plans. That's what made _Leon_ so valuable. 

Hop...honestly didn't know why Superintendent Rose had chosen him. During the most nerve wracking baseball game of his young life, the superintendent found more interest on his phone than watching the field. Even then, Hop didn't feel like he did anything that warranted a scholarship to a prestigious school. His team lost the game in the end! He knew better than to think that Superintendent Rose gave out scholarships on the _hope_ that a student turns into the talent he wants. But maybe he did see some potential in him? Maybe. Just maybe. 

"Whatcha say, Hop?"

Gloria's voice made Hop snap back into reality. "Oh, uh, sorry. What was that?"

"I asked you why you're here, you goof," she playfully teased, the smile bright on her face. 

Hop could have guessed that one. "Well, like Marnie, Superintendent Rose found out about my brother first. We're from Postwick and we went to Wedgehurst, and if you don't know either of those places that's fine. They're really small towns, but Lee managed to take his baseball team all the way through tournaments that went up against big names like Wyndon and even a different school in Hammerlocke. I want to be just like him, so I'm super into baseball. I guess Superintendent Rose has an eye for talented siblings, huh?"

"Whoa, he does, doesn't he?" Victor added with a light gasp of realization. "That's kinda weird now that I'm thinking about it."

"But I guess it's a winning strategy, since Superintendent Rose is super rich and his school is super famous," Gloria said with a shrug. "Plus, we're all here now! I'm so excited to spend the year with you lot." As she spoke, she opened her desk and pulled out the few supplies she had and scooted them over to the seat directly in front of her, leaving the seat next to Victor open as well as the seat directly in front of him. Victor clearly wasn't expecting her to do something like that. 

"Whatcha doing there, Gloria?"

"Branching out some, duh Victor. If I sit diagonal from you, then Hop and Marnie can sit next to both of us."

Victor's brows furrowed as his gears turned around Gloria's logic, but in the end, he gave up rather than deciding to put up a fight. Without rhyme or reason, she shoved her supplies into her new desk, then looked expectantly at her new friends. "Well? Whatcha guys waiting for? Pick our whichever seat ya want."

Hop glanced over at Marnie and motioned for her to go ahead. She seemed a little flustered at being the first to make to decision, but she ultimately ended up picking the seat next to Victor. Hop could either take the seat next to Gloria or the empty seat on the end, but he had a feeling only one of those was the correct answer. 

Only after he made claim to his seat by putting his supplies in the desk did Gloria finally settle down into her chair. Victor pushed up his sleeve to look at his watch and now Hop was curious. It felt like he's been in this building for an entire day and the bell hasn't even rang yet. 

"How much more time do we have before class starts, mate?" he asked and Victor perked up, almost like he was surprised that someone other than Gloria was talking to him. 

"Oh! Uh, ten more minutes," he said and then rolled his sleeve back down. 

"You might want to get that cheap thing checked out, or better yet, go on and toss it out." A new voice popped into the conversation and all eyes were on the source of such an outrageously rude comment. A kid with curly, platinum blond hair stood at the remaining desk on the end. The magenta bubble jacket he wore looked like it was three times his size. The feature that Hop truly couldn't advert his gaze from was his freckly face. He looked so smug yet annoyed, like he couldn't believe simpletons were looking directly his magnificent way. Something about this kid didn't set right with Hop. 

"E-excuse me?" Victor countered, more shocked than offended. 

"Your lame watch is five minutes too slow. The gears in it have ran their course only after a couple of turns."

"And what makes you such a watch expert here?" Gloria shot back, her voice quick to raise. 

The smugness' on the kid's face turned from obnoxious to downright punchable. "I know a thing or two about good watches because I have this." He raised his arm up and pulled down his bulky sleeve to showcase a shiny golden Rolex. None of the kids at the table knew how prestigious a Rolex was, but that was easily the shiniest and fanciest looking watch any of them had ever seen. "Not only is this what a high class watch looks like, but this was also gifted to me by Superintendent Rose himself."

"You're full of it," Gloria scoffed. Her disbelief made the kid's eyes narrow in frustration. 

"Oh please. I don't need _you_ to tell me how close I am to Superintendent Rose." The kid crossed his puffy arms over his chest. "He's seen _my_ potential since preschool. This is the first time that I've seen any of your faces around here. I thought that Hammerlocke was a prestigious school, but now it looks like Superintendent Rose will take just anyone off the street now."

Gloria grit her teeth and slammed her open palms on the top of her desk as she rapidly stood up. The kid flinched at the sudden motion and Hop jumped in his seat. His golden eyes frantically looked over at Victor to see if he was going to do anything about this and he simply stayed slouched in his seat as though this happened on a regular basis and his sister's outbursts were only to be expected at this point. "We worked really hard to get where we are now!"

"Yeah, because that's what people _without_ natural talent do," he quipped. Hop saw the fire of rage burning bright in Gloria's eyes and he honestly felt scared for the kid.

Right before Gloria could pounce on him, Hop stood up from his seat and put a calm yet firm hand on her shoulder, just like what Leon used to do to him right before he went into full tantrum mode. Although his hand was on Gloria, his fierce eyes were right on the kid. "What's your damage, eh? There's no reason to be so uppity."

"I'm not being uppity. I'm just saying what's true. If you get peeved then that's you're own fault."

Hop honestly couldn't think of a good comeback. The kid's reasoning wasn't sound, but nothing popped into his head that would make him feel like he came out on top in this scenario. Fortunately for him, the bell rung overhead, officially starting the day. Hop and Gloria lowered themselves back into their seats and the kid reluctantly followed suit by claiming the last desk as his own. Great. Ms. Opal assigned him to sit with them. Everyone at the table didn't look nearly as excited as they were only a few moments ago. Victor looked slightly zoned out, Marnie was nervously twirling the end of one of her pigtails, and Hop had to live in the constant fear that Gloria was going to pounce right on top of him in order to clench her hands around the new kid's neck. There were a lot of ways that Hop had expected the new school year to start out but this definitely was not one of those ways. 

**_Thud thud thud_ **

A decorated wooden cane hit the floor to get the children's attention to the front of the room where Ms. Opal stood hunched over. 

"It sounds like it's finally time to begin, dears!" Her voice box sounded shaky carrying that much excitement in her tone, like loose strings were pulled as tightly as they could but remained to be droopy. "Now, plenty of you have heard the tales of how much I love quizzes, so I find it fitting that we start with a question. Who am I?"

Hop thought that it was a strange question, but his hand shot up nonetheless. It seemed like everyone but Marnie and the new kid raised their hands to answer the question, but the gesture proved to be futile since the new kid decided to blurt out the answer. 

"You're Ms. Opal, of course."

"Incorrect, Bede!" she tsked and wagged a boney finger. "For one, that may be my name but that is not who I am. For two, I do not appreciate fine young men answering my questions without raising your hand and being called upon. That is something only hooligans do."

Everyone uncertainly lowered their hands. The new kid, Bede apparently, couldn't believe his ears. His face turned a vibrant shade of red that made Gloria giggle a little bit. "But your name is who you are," he blurted out again. 

"That is not true in the slightest," she rebuttalled. "A name is just that; a name. For example, your name is Bede but you are not _Bede_. So far you have shown me that you like to be a little hooligan, so that's _who_ you are."

Bede's face turned another shade redder and he sunk some into his seat, as if that was going to protect him from the quiet giggles of his classmates. Hop honestly couldn't help but feel a little bad for the kid. Sure, he was mean and rude, but regardless, it was always the worst feeling in the world to be picked on by your teacher. 

However, someone had to fall into her trap and he was merely the first one to do it. _Who_ was she? The question made the gears in Hop's head turn rapidly, and clearly, he wasn't the only one who was stumped. His classmates were either looking at one another trying to figure out what she meant or looked down at their desks to avoid making eye contact with the elderly lady. Maybe that was it? She was an old lady? No, that couldn't possibly be it. Who would want to flaunt off their age when they're old? If his own grandparents were anything to go off of, they were more interested in reliving the past rather than facing their future. After their retirements, the most they do is sleep, pick up and drop mundane hobbies, and watch day time game shows. However, they constantly talked about their lives before retirement. They always had the strongest identity with their younger selves. Who they were was still who they are. 

That's when Hop remembered the poster of the young woman and realization hit him like a high speed brick. 

His hand shot up like a rocket being controlled by a speed demon and he had to contain himself to prevent his mouth from blurting out the answer. The rest of his group looked at him with bewilderment.

Ms. Opal's wrinkled eyes turned to him, amusement dancing in her gaze. "Oh ho! You look quite certain of yourself, Hop dearest." 

"It's because I am, Ms. Opal." He nodded with a bright grin. "You're The Wizard!" 

Bede scoffed and rolled his eyes but stayed buried underneath his massive coat. The other students murmured quietly, trying to figure out what he meant. For a split second, even Hop thought that he was spouting out nothing more than nonsense, but once he saw the flash of brilliance in those wrinkled eyes he felt free to relax. 

He was absolutely right. 

"Wonderful observation, Hop!" she praised with a laugh that sounded more like an owl hooting rather than something that would play during a prerecorded sitcom. "I was not always the teacher I am today. My life used to be solely dedicated to theatre. I could do just about anything; acting, producing, directing, writing, you name it, I could do it. That is how I established myself as The Wizard." With her cane firmly in her hand, she began to shuffle around the class. All eyes were on her. "I had plenty of tricks up my sleeve." She stopped right behind Marnie and the girl looked too frazzled to turn around to face her. Crooked fingers brushed behind her ear before rising again with a silver coin in between them. The classroom gasped in amazement. "And in order to produce wonderful magic, you need to know your tricks." She placed the coin on Marnie's desk and gave her a gentle pat on the head before shuffling away from her. "That is what I will provide to each and every one of you throughout the year. Every one of you has unique talents, but focusing on those talents alone will lead you down a dead end road. By learning trick after trick, the magic in your talents will be far beyond compare."

As Ms. Opal continued to shuffle around the class and talk about tricks, Gloria leaned in close to Hop. "How did you know she was a wizard?" she whispered, keeping her eyes firmly on Ms. Opal so she knew when to spring back into place to avoid getting caught. 

"That's her on the poster," Hop whispered back and pointed to said poster. "Back when she wasn't such a gran."

"Whoa," she gasped. "I never would'a figured that out. She's so wrinkly and the lady in the picture...isn't."

Gloria started to giggle and Hop honestly couldn't help but join her. However, as soon as Ms. Opal turned toward their direction both of them straightened up and cut their laughter off on a split second notice. When he back was turned towards them once more, they gave one another a side eyed glance and broke out into another quiet giggle fit. 

To one side of him, an outspoken girl was giggling up a storm. To the other side of him, an embarrassed boy was glaring daggers at the back of his violet head. The laughter he was caught up in took his mind completely away from feeling the sharp blades dig into his skull. 

Ignorance of the moment truly was bliss, but hindsight always hurts. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! Now that we have most of the main players established, the plot can start to go into full swing. Don't worry though! I said "most." There are still some beloved names and faces that will make their appearances here soon. Feel free to leave any questions/comments/concerns in the comments below or hmu at authorazumarill.tumblr.com!
> 
> Next time: Just some guys shooting hoops


End file.
